Friday, March 16, 2018

While we were on our last trip we found out that Alan and Rachel bought a house! But as is the trend right now, it's a fixer upper! So a few days after we arrived home we packed up and hit the road again. This time to Kansas!

They took out a wall, took down the ceiling panels, tore up the carpet and looked at paint colors! Working on a big projects together has had a immense impact on our family relationships over the years. Teamwork is a beautiful thing and can make any job, no matter how dirty or hard, a lot more enjoyable!

Stephen found a friend in the house! Unfortunately, we had to leave him down there.

There aren't any pictures of hanging out with Kendrick and Autumn, but that was a favorite pastime in between working! I guess we will just have to make another trip down to help finish the house and get more pictures. *wink wink* For now we are unpacking at home and getting ready for our busywork season to start.

"But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!"

Monday, March 12, 2018

One of the Saturdays that we were there Andrew had off from work, so guess where we went...

The Beach!!!

It was extra special to have Elizabeth join us as she had spent the previous weeks with our Grandma. Not only that, but Matthias and Michelle flew down to join us for a few days!

The weather was literally perfect, and the waves were pretty huge! I didn't get pictures of it, but most all of us went in for some wave jumping. It was a blast. God's creation is so incredibly beautiful and exciting to explore.

Then we enjoyed the beach. Some laid down and soaked in the sun and others played frisbee.

Friday, March 09, 2018

Although we did have free time in Florida, we greatly enjoyed the places we sang as well. We had the opportunity to sing for a school chapel one morning and were so blessed by their smiles and energy.

The First Academy is the school where Kori attended growing up, so it was delightful to be at a place that had a big part in her life.

This year it was truly the "sunshine state". Time to break out the sunglasses!

Not only do we greatly enjoy the time with Andrew and Kori, but we treasure the friendships that God has given us with the entire Knuth family and the Johnstons. One evening we played a big group game of Pictionary... If you've never played it before I highly recommend it! The less artistic you are the more laughter is heard throughout the game.

Wednesday, March 07, 2018

If I had to describe Susanna in 3 words they would have to be, loyal, athletic and fun. She enjoys when she can have a consistent schedule and yet is always up for adventure! She works installing underground irrigation systems for Wissmann Enterprise and plays banjo for our family.

This past year one of her highlights has been the trips to visit Grandpa and Grandma. Some of us made it up almost every month last year and it was such a special treat!

She enjoys working outdoors and spent a lot of time planting, weeding and picking the produce from our garden last year. She tends to be pretty organized and breaks down her goals to make them happen. Some of her favorite activities include sports, working out and reading.

Since graduating from high school she has spent a lot of time studying animal training and taking care of our Australian Shepherd, Ace. Unfortunately, Ace was hit by a car in January and didn't make it. Her most recent time investment has been sewing. She has always done embroidery work and recently bought a sewing machine to start bigger projects.

Family has always been important, so she enjoys making trips to visit the married siblings and their families when she can.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Andrew is one of the few people in this world that was born on Leap Year! So we only celebrate his actual birthday every four years. The rest of the time we celebrate on February 28th and March 1st.

Andrew and Kori will celebrate their 7th anniversary on March 5th. They live in Orlando, Florida not far from Kori's family and enjoy setting up their new home.

Andrew and Kori's lives are about to change as they get ready to welcome a little baby BOY in June. We are so thrilled for them and can't wait to see his little face. They've talked about baby names but haven't come up with the perfect one for this little guy. If you have any suggestions feel free to put them in the comment section.

Andrew is partner in a dock building business. He spends a lot of time working on water, managing working crews and working in the office. Kori works for the company as well doing secretarial tasks and pulling permits.

Living in Florida means that they get a lot of visitors during the winter season!
Not only is the weather great, but you can't beat the time with family.

We are so grateful for all of the memories we've been able to make with them over the years and love when they fly up to visit!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

“But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.”2 Thessalonians 3:13

Monday, February 26, 2018

We have had the immense privilege to go into prisons and sing about our Savior for 14 years now. I was looking back over some of our blog posts about our prison services (click here if you want to see them) and I realized I don't think we ever shared how God brought that opportunity into our lives.

It started long before we started doing music together as a family. Before most of us were even born our dad would go weekly into our local jail and have Bible studies with the inmates. Even though Dad was the only one that could go in, it became a family ministry. Often Dad would come home with prayer requests from the guys and we would pray for them as a family during our devotions.

After God opened the doors for us to travel and sing as a family we felt a burden to go into prisons and share. But we didn't know of anyone that did that and with all the paper work it takes to get into a prison we didn't know how that was ever going to happen. So we started praying that God would open that door.

Fast forward to the fall of 2004. Our family was on a trip out east and we were scheduled to sing at a church early Sunday morning. To save time Sunday morning we drove to the church late Saturday evening so that the next day we just had to set up our equipment. Upon arriving we found out that the church had several revival meetings the previous evenings and the family that was leading them was just getting ready to pull out. It was the Mullet Family! After talking to Mr Mullet for a while and hearing the journey that God has brought them on Dad came back to the bus so excited! "I just met the neatest family and you'll never guess what!" he said.

Mr Mullet was on the board of a ministry called Gospel Express that goes into prisons all the time. They host a week of services in the South Carolina prisons every year with volunteers and singing groups that come from all over the U.S. to share the life changing message with the inmates. This was a direct answer to prayer and we were so excited! A few months later we were headed into the first of many prisons.

Since then we joined another ministry called We Care to go into prisons in Alabama and Florida. God has also opened the door to go into prisons in Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Colorado. It's been an incredible opportunity that has had a huge impact on our family! If God lays something on your heart, just start praying about it and watch Him open doors. Every year hundereds of volunteers come to both Gospel Express and We Care for a week of ministering in the prisons. It is truly a blessing to be a part of. If this is something you would be interested in click the ministry name to get more information.

"I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me;I was in prison and you came to Me."Matthew 25:36

Friday, February 23, 2018

Josiah and his wife Abi celebrated their 9th wedding anniversary last September. They have 3 children. Joanna who turns 8 tomorrow, Asher is 6, and Jenifer is 1. They live only about 2 miles away from us in Nebraska which we love, because it means we get to see them quite often!

Josiah does aerial crop spraying (crop dusting) as well as being an instructor to a couple of up and coming pilots. He puts in big days in the summer but really enjoys the time in the air. We've greatly benefited from him being a flight instructor. He has taught Dad, Stephen and now Nathanael, along with several others. We will see which one of us is next to learn!

Abi keeps busy homeschooling Joanna and Asher as well as being a stay at home mom. It is always fun to see what she is working on with the kids and how fast they are learning.

Before Josiah and Abi were married, Abi worked at a nursing home and has a special place in her heart for the elderly. She is very intentional about taking the kids to visit their great-grandparents or some other elderly friend.

Josiah and Abi enjoy serving at their local church, getting together with friends or doing something special with the kids. When we are on the road we love getting pictures or videos of their family game nights, work projects they do together, playing at the park and other aspects of everyday life.

Happy Birthday, Josiah!

‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,'and ‘your neighbor as yourself.'

Saturday, February 17, 2018

We often get asked what we DO all day when we are on the road. Well, that depends on the day. Setting up, getting ready for a concert, singing, taking down and talking with people afterwards does fill a lot of our time! But we do have free time on the road and that can be filled up in a variety of ways.

On the road, as well as at home we try to start the morning out with family devotions. Or we have breakfast first and then family devotions. It sets our focus in the right place and gets us all on the same page. Over the years we haven't always been consistent, but we try to do the best we can to make it a priority.

We make most of our meals in the bus except for what other people provide for us. But since our kitchen area is so small it is really hard to get a picture of us making food. So here is Charissa eating it! There are a few of us still in school so that takes up a good chunk of our free time. Even those that aren't in school enjoy learning and spend travel time reading or doing some online studies.

All of us love to be active and so if we are parked in an area for a couple hours we try to take advantage of that. Usually the guys pull out their weights and work out. Sometimes we just happen to park at a shopping center which is great, because then you can go for a walk to get some exercise and come back with some new purchases!

I have to admit, if we are driving down the road, sometimes we all just curl up in our bunks and take a good ol' nap. Life on the road is not the vacation that some people think it is. Don't get me wrong, there are aspects of it that are very enjoyable, and we've been able to do a lot of things that most people don't have the opportunity to do. Sometimes, though, when you're schedule is really full, it's nice to get a bit of a refresher.

We are always trying to work up new music, so some of our time on the road is spent practicing instruments or working on new stuff. If we have an open evening with no concert, we try to plan something fun to do together as a family! Sometimes we spend it with some friends in the area, or we will make something special for supper and then either talk and plan, play games, FaceTime family, or watch a movie.